Axial flow combine harvester

ABSTRACT

A combine harvester having two axial flow threshing and separating units in side-by-side relation with feed augers in front for receiving crops from a crop header and infeed conveyor and for drawing crops axially into the units. The threshing and separating units pass grain through concaves and grates onto a grain pan and grain cleaning means and, at the rear, deliver straw onto a straw conveyor for rearward discharge. The clean grain is elevated to a grain tank on top and discharged through a spout at the side.

United States Patent 191 Rowland-Hill 1' July 3, 1973 I54] AXIALFLOWCOMBINE HARVESTER 3.481343 12/1969 Van Buskirk 130/27 T l.78l,47211/1930 Nagle l30/23 lnvemm- Edward awhnd'flm' 3,536,077 10/1970 Sum etal. 130/6 Lancaster, 2,098,860 11/1937 Creech 56/l2.9 [73] Assignee:Sperry Rand Corporation, Ne

' Holland, Pa. Primary Examiner-Antonio F. Guida [22] Filed V May 101972 Attorney-John C, Thompson et al. 21 Appl. NO.2 252,120

[57] ABSTRACT Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation of Sar No790 '45 Jan I969 A combme harvester havmg two axlal flow threshlngabandoned and separating units in side-by-side relation with feed augersin front for receiving crops from a crop header s2 u.s. c1. 56/129,130/27 T and infeed and drawing Cr01Cs axially [51] Int. Cl. A0ld 45/02the units The threshing and Separating units pass grain [58] Field ofSearch 130,6 8 27 T 27 w through concaves and grates onto a grain panand grain b 5 cleaning means and, at the rear, deliver straw onto astraw conveyor for rearward discharge. The clean grain l 56] ReferencesCited is elevated to a grain tank on top and discharged UNITED STATESPATENTS through a spout at the s1de.

3.464,419 9/1969 Knapp et a]. 130/27 T 21 Claims, 16 Drawing FiguresPATENIEUJUL 3 I973 MEI-301 6 llll I hT X AXIAL FLOW COMBINE HARVESTERCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation of may application Ser. No. 790,145 filed Jan. 9, 1969, nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally tomobile grain harvesting equipment and more particularly to combineharvesters and the like in which improved means are provided forthreshing and separating grain from other crop materials such as straw.

As mobile combines are harvesting in the field the grain is threshed,separated and delivered for transport from the field. This is the mosteconomical method for harvesting grain. In the standard commerciallyavailable combines the concave and rotating threshing cylinder extendtransverse to the direction of movement of the combine. The crop is fedto the side of the concave and passed between the concave and rotatingcylinder and the straw is discharged rearwardly on the opposite side ofthe concave onto straw walkers that extend rearwardly and transverselyacross the combine. In order to attain even greater economies there is ademand for combines with greater capacities for threshing and storinggrain. The size and capacities of the combines have been increased byincreasing the length and diameter of the threshing cylinder, thecircumferential wrap of the concaves around the cylinder and the lengthand width of the straw walkers. This increase in size of the threshingcylinder and straw walkers increases the dimensions of associate partsand the overall size and total weight of the combine. The greater weightand size of the grain and straw harvesting components increases the sizeof the wheels and suspension adding further to the overall weight anddimensions. The width and total weight of the large combines have nowreached the practical and permissible limits for field operation, roadtravel and shipment.

The greater weight presents problems in the flotation or suspension ofthe combine on the wheels. The suspension must withstand operation onrough terrain, hillsides and road travel at acceptable speeds. Anotherpractical limit is the maximum unit pressure many soils can carrywithout adverse affects such as undesirable compaction. In order not toexceed this maximum pressure larger and special tires are required.These are expensive and further add to the width of the combine. Thegreater weight increases the cost of shipment and makes the combinedmore cumbersome for loading and transport.

As to transverse width, there is a maximum legal width for any behicleto travel on a public highway. The largest combines exceed this legallyacceptable width in order to attain higher threshing capacities. Specialpermits are required to move these combines on public highways. This isbothersome and subject to denial. Also, it is more difficult to drivethe oversize combines on a road or highway.

The greater capacity requires a higher combine to accommodate the longerstraw walker and a larger grain storage tank. The height is a factor ofthe trailer transport of combines by the users of the combine fromharvesting area to harvesting area and also is providing an optimumfield of vision for the combine operator particularly in driving thecombine in reverse.

These are illustrative of the shortcomings and also problems ofincreased size and weight in obtaining greater capacity withconventional combines. Therefore, any increase in the capacity ofcombines while maintaining acceptable overall dimensions and weight ofthe combines must be by new and different basic design of combines.

Combines with a single axial flow threshing and separating unit havebeen considered but fail to meet the requirements for an increasedcapacity combine. The capacity of such combines does not provide anyacceptable advantage over the conventional combines of the same size.The straw mat thickness of a large capacity single axial flow unit isgreater than desirable for efficient separation of the threshed grainfrom the crop material. The grain precipitation pattern is very unevenand unacceptable as the grain piles on one side of the grain handlingand cleaning means making it difficult .to separate the chaff from thegrain. This undesirable piling is further aggravated in hillsideoperation. Also, feeding problems have encountered with single axialflow units.

An increased capacity combine within conventional combine dimensions hasnot heretofore been attainable.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is toprovide a mobile threshing and separating machine that has an increasedcapacity over present commercially available machines without increasein size or weight.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile threshing andseparating machine with an increased capacity over present commercialcombines that is permissible to run on public roads and does not exceeddesired unit pressure of the wheels with standard combine tires.

Another 'object of the invention is to provide a combine having acapacity of larger combines at a lower horsepower.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile axial flowthreshing and separating machine with a relatively even grainprecipitation pattern and distribution across the cleaning area.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile threshing andseparating machine that provides greater latitude in selection of theheight over presently available combines and still provides adequatethreshing and grain storage capacity.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile axial flowthreshing and separating machine with threshing and separating unitsthat are not greater in size and weight than the threshing andseparating units of presently available combines.

Another object of this invention is to provide a high capacity axialflow threshing and separating machine operating with a low straw matthickness or density for more efficient separation of grain.

Another object of the invention is to provide an axial flow combine withan axial feeding means that is not fouled by entering cut crops.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will beapparent from the following description and claims taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings which illustrate the various features ofthis invention:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view ofacombine harvester in which the principles of the present invention havebeen incorporated;

FIG. 1A is a plan view partially in section, of the combine shown inFIG. 1, this view being taken along the lines 1A 1A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section side view of the combine with the lefthand threshing and separating unit shown in section, taken along lines2-2 of FIG. 3 with a portion of the threshing rotor broken away;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the anti-wrapshield with the shaft and bearing means shown in full;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the auger sections takenalong lines 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the threshing sectionstaken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is a cross sectional view illustrating the grain precipitationpattern on the grain pan underneath the threshing sections;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the separating sectionstaken along lines 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the discharge sectiontaken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6A is an enlarged cross-sectional view ofa modification of thedischarge sections for side discharge taken along a section similar tosection 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 illustrates the transverse rotor drive with right angle gearboxesin the direction of the arrows 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a threshing section concave;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of a separating section grate;

FIG. 10 is a downward sectional view of the deflector fingers in themodified separating section taken along lines 10-10 of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view looking up at the inner surface of theupper wall of the right threshing and separating casing; and I FIG. 12is a fragmentary plan view of a rasp bar on the threshing rotor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT IN GENERAL In thefollowing description this invention is described in association with aself-propelled combine harvester. However, it should be noted that thisinvention is also suitable with other forms of threshing machines, suchas for example, a tractor power take-off driven combine. Right-hand andleft-hand reference is determined by standing to the rear of the combineharvester and facing the direction of travel. While the terms grain andstraw are used principally throughout this specification, it should beunderstood that the terms are not intended to be limiting. The termgrain as used herein refers to all crop material that may be threshed bythe mechanism described herein. Similarly, straw refers to alldiscardable crop material.

The combine harvester C illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a mobile mainframe or housing means 22 supported on front drive wheels 23 and rearsteerable wheels 24, the wheels being transversely spaced apart onopposite sides of the frame. A crop gathering and harvesting header andinfeed conveyor 16 extends forwardly of the main frame and is pivotallysecured thereto for vertical movement, the vertical movement beingcontrolled through an extensible hydraulic cylinder 18. Right andleft-hand longitudinally extending threshing and separating units 30,32,respectively are carried on the side walls 106 of the main frame 22 andon a longitudinally extending beam 104 intermediate the side walls 106.An operators platform 34, a grain tank 36, grain handling and cleaningmeans 55 and a straw conveyor are also mounted on the frame. The variouscomponents of the combine C are driven from a conventional power meanswhich customarily takes the form of an internal combustion engine. Onlythe drive means to the threshing and separating units 30,32 areillustrated in the drawings, the other drive means being generallyconventional.

As the combine C is propelled forwardly over a field, the crop materialwhich is to be harvested is separated from the stubble by the cutter 25on the header 16 and is conveyed by the infeed conveyor 28 to thethreshing and separating units 30,32. The material received within thethreshing and separating units will be threshed, that is to say, thatthe crop material (which could be wheat, corn, rice, soy beans, etc.) isrubbed or beaten from the stalks, cobs, or other discardable cropmaterial so that the grain may be separated from the straw.

The threshing and separating units 30 and 32 have axial flow threshingand separating casings of a generally cylindrical configuration and aredisposed in a contiguous and parallel side-by-side relation with theparallel axes of the casings lying in a fore-and-aft plane. The unitsare inclined upwardly toward the rear with the fore-and-aft planetransversely parallel to the ground. The casings are open at theirforward portions thereof to receive unthreshed crop material and have arear opening for straw discharge. The casings also have on toplongitudinally extending right and left transversely curved solid upperor top walls 94A,B, respectively, which extend the entire length of theunits. The flat side walls 106 of the main frame and the intermediatelongitudinally extending beam 104 between the units form solid sidewalls and also extend the length of the units. The bottom of each of thecasings is enclosed by right and left forward transversely curvedlongitudinally extending concaves 118A,B, respectively, and right andleft grates 128. Right and left bottom walls 102A,B, respectively, aredisposed forwardly of the concaves.

Right and left hand longitudinally extending rotors are disposedconcentrically within each of the casings. The right and left handrotors include right and left hand shafts 92A,92B, respectively, theforward ends of the shafts being rotatably journalled within thetransverse beam 141A and the rear end of the shaft 92A,92B beingrotatably journalled within a transverse beam 141B.

It should be noted at this point, that the right and left hand unitshave feed sections (98,100), threshing sections (108,110), separatingsections (120,122) and discharge sections (137,139).

Crop feeding means in the form of right and left feed augers 98A, 100A,respectively, are mounted on each of the shafts forward of the threshingportion to form feed means sections 98,100 with the bottom walls102A,102B, respectively. Right and left forward longitudinally extendingthreshing portions 111, 115, re-

spectively are mounted on the shafts 92A,92B and right and left rearwardseparating portions 124A,124B are mounted on rear portions of the shafts92A,92B to form with the concaves and grates, respectively, threshingand separating sections.

In the threshing section the material is threshed and a large portion ofthe grain is separated from the straw and the initially separated grainis delivered to the grain pan 66. A certain proportion of the grain,however, will be conveyed rearwardly into the separating sections withthe straw and additional separation of this entrained grain will takeplace within these sections. The straw is discharged from the rear ofthe threshing and separating units 30,32 onto a straw conveyor 140 forfurther separation and discharge of the residue onto the ground.

The grain (and other material) which is separated from the straw willfall onto the grain handling and cleaning means 55, which includes meansto separate the chaff from the grain and also means to segregate theunthreshed material (know in the art as tailings). The cleaned grain isthen elevated into a grain bin or tank 36 by means of a clean grainelevator 46, and the tailings are raised by the tailings elevator 38 anddischarged into the unthreshed material by means of the upper tailingsfeed auger assembly 42.

HEADER The header illustrated in FIG. 1 is of the grain type, however,it should be noted that other forms of headers may be employed, as forexample, a corn header. The header 16 is provided with a reel carried onan adjustable support 12 which is positioned by hydraulic cylinder 14.During operation the reel 10 rotates in the direction indicated by thearrow 10 to force grain into the sickle bar cutter 25. The severed grainbearing crop material is laterally consolidated by means of two opposedaugers 26 which discharge the straw centrally to the infeed conveyormeans and housing assembly 28,29 which is pivotally mounted on theframe. The infeed conveyor means 28 within the housing means 29 in turnconveys the material rearwardly to the threshing and separating unitmounted on the combine. GRAIN HANDLING AND CLEANING MEANS The grainhandling and cleaning means receives the grain which is to be cleanedfrom the threshing and separating units 30,32 (described in more detailbelow). The grain handling and cleaning means 55 (FIG. 2) is generallyconventional and includes a grain pan 66, a chaffer sieve 62, a grainsieve 63 and a fan 60. The separated grain is discharged from thethreshing section and separating section either onto the surface ofoscillating grain pan 66 or sieve 62. The majority of the grain fallsonto the grain pan which subsequently discharges the grain onto thechaffer sieve 62. The chaffer sieve is provided with means whereby theapertures in the sieve can be adjusted so that grain received on thesieve may fall through the sieve while the trash is shaken rearwardlyfor discharge, the lighter chaff also being blown rearwardly by means ofthe fan 60 in the housing 56A (FIG. 2). The grain sieve 63 is providedwith apertures which permit only the grain to pass through and down tothe grain auger 48, anything larger such as unthreshed heads (referredto as tailings) being discharged to the rear of the sieve 63 onto thechute or guide 56D, which then directs the tailings into a firsttailings return auger assembly which includes the trough 56B and thetailings auger 40. The cleaned grain is dropped onto the chute 64 and isthen directed to the grain auger 48. The chaffer sieve, grain sieve, andchute 64 are all oscillated in a fore-and-aft direction. As illustratedin FIG. 1A and 4A the grain cleaning means 62, 63, 64 and grain pan 66of the grain handling and cleaning means is a unitary structure andextends across the combined width of the units 30,32 and the housingmeans or frame 22. Thus the grain handling and cleaning means is unitaryin width. The clean grain auger 48 and the tailings auger 40are'disposed in troughs 56C and 568, respectively, formed in the lowersurface of the bottom casing 56. The grain is conveyed from the trough56C to the grain tank 36 by means of an elevator 46. The tailings areconveyed to the feed sections 98 and (FIG. 3) of the threshing andseparating units 30 and 32 by means of a tailings elevator 38 whichraises and discharges the tailings onto the upper tailings feed augerassembly 42, which in turn delivers the tailings into the feed sections98 and 100 of units 30,32 through compartment 44 and operative means 96in the upper walls 94A,94B (FIG. 3).

The grain may be discharged from the grain tank 36 by means of the grainunloading auger 52 which forces the grain to the discharge spout 54.

FEEDING AND THRESI-IING SECTIONS The feed augers 98A and 100A are doublehelical members and are rotated at varying speeds between approximately280 to I550 rpm to feed the crop axially to the main threshing sections108 and (FIG. 4). The speed of rotation depends on the type and natureof crop material being handled. As can be seen from FIG. 3 one of theaugers 98A,l00A is a right-hand feeding auger and the other is aleft-hand feeding auger. Both will feed to the rear when rotated inopposite directions as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3. The rear endof the augers 98A,100A are encased by the rear end of the solid bottomwalls 102A,B to peripherally enclose the augers in cooperation with theupper and side walls and beams. As can be seen from FIG. 3 the bottomwalls 102A,B extend rearwardly from a generally horizontal leading edge102A,B' to a semicylindrical configuration about the rear ends of thefeed augers 98A, 100A. The adjacent sides of the bottom walls 102A,B aredisposed in side-by-side relationship to form a dividing edge 102C. Thebottom walls 102A,B are attached to the side walls 106 and beam 104.During operation of the combine the auger sections receive theunthreshed crop material from the infeed conveyor 28 through the forwardinlet or opening 99 (FIG. 2), the opening being forced by the forwardend of the walls 102A,B, the sides 106, and the transverse beam 141A.The opening above the beam 141A is closed by panel 101. As the augers98A,]00A rotate in opposite directions the unthreshed crop material willbe drawn in and divided into two mat sections, one for each of saidcasings.

The main threshing sections 108 and 110 have threshing portions rotor111, 115. The threshing portions may have solid sheet metal members 113extending the length of the threshing section. Themembers are supportedon each side of plate-like spiders 112 mounted on the shafts 92A,B.Threshing elementsor rasp bars 114 are mounted in circumferentiallyspaced apart relation on the periphery of the threshing portions of therotors and extend longitudinally along the casing. Each rasp bar hasrasps 127 (FIG. 12) extending outwardly at an angle to the radial plane.The rasp bars may be provided in pairs at each end of the rotors. Thethreshing section of the rotors have an elongated or generallyelliptical shape in comparison with the generally cylindrical casings.Thus, the width of the rotor sections or portions 111,115 transverse tothe diameter length between the rasp bars 114 is substantially narroweror smaller to form the spaces D and E with the casings. The cropmaterial and straw which enters the units 30,32 is directed bycentrifugal force against the casing and concaves to form straw mats forseparation and movement of the crop material. The straw mat between therasp bars and the casing has a relatively low density, thus providing asaving in horsepower for threshing the straw. The straw mats arecirculated around the casings and repeatedly threshed by the double raspbars at the ends of the portions 111,115.

In addition to receiving the crop material, the spaces D and E provideample room to pass debris such as rocks, discarded metal parts and thelike without damaging the combine. The debris does not pass between therasp bars and concaves and thus damage or bending of these importantcomponents is minimized.

The main casing has the top walls 94A,B, sides 106, and beam 104 closingthe top and sides. Right and left feed plates 125A,B curve downwardlyfrom the beam 104 and sides 106 to the concaves 118A,1l8B. The bottomportions have longitudinally extending concaves 118A,B each withlongitudinal concave bars 129 and slots 121 therebetween. The concavesare preferably formed as a single piece or integral unit with curvedbeams 123 at each end. As can be seen from FIG. 4 the concaves extendover a minor arc in each casing and are in side-by-side relation acrossthe width of the frame. In this embodiment the concaves 118A,B arefixedly mounted. However, it is preferable that the concaves besimultaneously adjustable to set the spacing between the rasps 127 andconcaves 118A,B for best performance depending on the type and conditionof the crop material being threshed. In addition to moving the concavesto and from the rasp bars 114 of the threshing rotors the concaves maybe set laterally or sidewise so that the concaves are closer to the pathof the rasp bars on one side than on the other. Thus the spacing may benarrower at the trailing edge than at the leading edge of the concave.Cylindrically curved wires 119 pass through bars 129 to divide thelongitudinal slots 121 into rectangular shape openings (FIG. 8). Thelength of the openings depends on the type of crop material andthreshing conditions. The wires are removable from the threshingsections in a direction transverse to the direction of flow of cropmaterial through openings in the walls 106 (not shown) normally closedby panels (not shown). Therefore, no operating components of the combineobstruct the removal of the wires. Thus the wires are conventientlyremoved or insertcd.

Each of the top walls 94A,B is provided with conveying means in the formof vanes or flights 116 disposed at an angle to the radial plane. As thestraw mat is rotated around the threshing section it is deflected orguided rearwardly along the units by the flights or vanes 116 in upperwalls 94A,94B of the casings in a generally helical movement. Also, therasps 127 are at an angle to the direction of movement to assist inmoving the straw out of the threshing section.

ROTOR DRIVE MEANS It is desirable to operate the threshing andseparating units at different speeds which are not directly proportionalto engine speed. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a variable speeddrive between the engine and the threshing and separating units 30,32,this being shown as a variable sheave drive indicated generally at 73.The engine 70 has an output drive sheave 71 which drive a driven sheave74 mounted on shaft 76 (FIG. 1) by belt 72. A first variable sheave 78is mounted concentrically with the driven sheave 74 on shaft 76 and isdriven by sheave 74. A second variable sheave 82 is mounted on shaft 83and is driven by belt 80, one portion of which is disposed over thefirst variable sheave 78. A sprocket 85 is mounted on the shaft 83concentrically with the second variable sheave 82 and is driven therebyand in turn drives sprocket 87 on one end of the drive shaft 888 (FIG.7) through chain means 86.

The right end of drive shaft 88B is connected to the left hand gearbox Bwhich is coupled to the tubular shaft 923 of the left hand threshing andseparating unit 32. The gearbox 90B is also provided with a transverselyextending output shaft 88A that is coupled through means of a flexiblecoupling 89 to the right hand gearbox 90A. The right hand gearbox 90A iscoupled to the tubular shaft 92A of the right hand threshing andseparating assembly 30. Thus the gearboxes 90A,90B, shaft 888 andcoupling 89 interconnect the threshing and separating assemblies 30 and'32 and function as a single or common drive means or power input todrive the rotors of the assemblies at a common rotation speed and inopposite directions downwardly at adjacent sides.

The threshing portions 111,115 of the rotors may be rotated for passingacross the concaves at the same time. However, it is preferable that therotors thresh at different times as shown in FIG.- 4. The portions111,115 are positioned so that one set of the rasp bars 114 of thethreshing portion 111 have just finishing cooperation with the concave118A whereas one set of the rasp bars 114 of the threshing portion 115are just beginning to cooperate with the concave 1188 in the threshingaction. The driving of the rotors by the gearboxes 90A,90B is maintainedin timed relation by the shaft 88A and coupling 89. The gearboxes90A,90B, shaft 88A and coupling 89 form a single or common drive meansfor the rotors. The rotors are angularly offset and out-of-phase intheir rotative relation so that the respective threshing traverses ofthe rotors commence and terminate at different times and, therefore,alternately commence threshing traverses.

In this way, only one of the rotors will be in initial contact with-theconcaves at any one time. In this way the required horsepower isreduced. One theory for the observed horsepower reduction is that theinertia of the unit which is free of the concave assists the unit whichis cooperating with the respective concave.

With the opposite rotation of the rotors the rasp bars approach theconcaves adjacent the center beam 104 and move towards the side of thecombine. The separated grain G falls onto the grain pan 66.

The downward movement of the rotors at the center produces a dischargeof the grain at the center area with the precipitation pattern of thegrain G steadily diminishing in density outwards from the center area asillustrated in FIG. 4A. This precipitation responds to the vibration ofthe grain pan to distribute the grain more evenly over the pan. Thegrain is then distributed on the sieves 62,63 for good cleaning andseparating action. The grain pan is approximately half the length of thethreshing and separating units and extends the length of the threshingsection and forward portion of the separating sections. The straw matswith entrained grain are circulated rapidly around the casing and aremoved longitudinally to the separating sections. SEPARATING ANDDISCHARGE SECTIONS Following the main threshing sections 108 and 110 areseparating sections 120 and 122. Mounted on the shafts 92A,B andrearwardly of the main threshing rov tors 111,115 are separatingportions 124A,B, each having angularly disposed deflecting blades 126mounted on spiders 143A,B,C,E,D which are in turn carried by shafts92A,B. The deflecting blades 126 in the first portion of the separatingsections 120 and 122, cooperate with the separating grates 128 toseparate grain still left in the straw mat as best illustrated in FIGS.and 9. The grates 128 generally have a wider mesh than the concaves118A,B. The grates 128 have longitudinal grate bars 128A, with removabletransverse wires 128C. The twin separating sections provide asubstantial improvement in the separating efficiency by a reduction ofmat thickness. The separating portions 124A,124B are alignedrespectively with threshing portions 111,115 of the rotors.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 6, right and left discharge sections137,139 for the discharge of straw from the separating sections 120 and122, start at the next to the last spider 143. The grates 128 end justbeyond spider and the bottoms of the casings have openings 137A,139A(FIG. 6). The ends of the casings or units are closed by plates 135(FIG. 2). The straw discharged through the openings 137A,139A isreceived by a straw conveyor 140 for subsequent discharge from thecombine harvester. I

In FIG. 6A a modified embodiment is illustrated in which the straw isdischarged to opposite sides through openings 132,134 in the sides ofthe frame 22. A deflector means is formed by deflecting fingers 130mounted on bracket 136 attached to beam 104 and extending into the pathof the descending straw. The straw is directed by the fingers 130 andchutes 147,149 through the discharge openings 134,132 in the walls 106of the frame 22. In the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 thereare no openings or the openings 132,134 are closed by panels 131,133.Panel 131 has been removed in FIG. 2 to better illustrate the strawconveyor.

The rotation of the rotors draws in air and dust through openings 99.The air flow is controlled or restricted by discs 103 (FIGS. 2 and 5) inthe separation sections. The diameter of the discs depends upon theamount of air flow desired. Sufficient space'is provided between theperiphery of the disc and the casing for the passage of the straw intothe discharge sections. One or more discs may be used in each separatingsection and positioned at appropriate places depending on the desiredair flow. For a single disc in each unit the preferable location isslightly in advance of the discharge end of the grates 128 asillustrated in (FIG. 2).

RESIDUE CROP MATERIAL CONVEYORS AND SEPARATING MEANS The straw conveyor140 has the inner end under the openings 137A, 139A to receive thedischarged straw. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the strawconveyor extends longitudinally in the direction of the threshing andseparating sections and moves the straw rearwardly for an end discharge.

At the rear end of the combine frame a discharge opening 138 isprovided. The straw conveyor extends through the opening 138 for thedischarge of material directly from the back of the machine. Anchorbrackets 142 and 144 are provided at opposite ends of the conveyor forsupporting a plurality of parallel spaced apart members 146 extending indirection of movement of the conveyor 140. Fingers 148 are mounted ontransversely extending spaced rods to impart an apertured open latticestructure to the conveyor and project upwardly between members 146 forengaging and moving the straw rearwardly. The members 146 may be wiresor wide perforated channel strips and are carried by right and leftchains 151, which run over sprockets 152 on shafts 150. The conveyorpermits discharge of the straw material into a single windrow. Acovering housing encloses the straw conveyor on the top and sides. Thebottom of the housing is open for dis charge of the straw.

ANTI-WRAP SHIELDS At the intake end of the shafts 92A,92B the augers98A,]00A are preferably preceded by cone shaped members or anti-wrapshields (FIGS. 2 and 2C). Each member has an annular collar 107 inretatable relation with a mounting 105 fixedly attached to the beam141A. The collar is held axially by fitting in an annular groove in themounting. Conical portions 109 extend circumferentially completelyaround the forward end of each shaft and flare radially outwardly fromthe shaft in the direction towards the respective auger and thedischarge end of the threshing and separating units. The anti-wrapshields protect the bearing means 93 totatably supporting the shafts92A,B in the beam 141A. The peripheral edges of the conical portions 109are spaced from the casings to permit the entry of crops. The leadingends of the helical members extend within the conical member. The coneshaped members or anti-wrap shields prevent the fouling of the shafts byentering crop material that may become entwined about the shafts in thevicinity of the bearing. OPERATION The infeed straw conveyor 28 feedsthe crop to the threshing and separating units which are in parallelside-by-side arrangement and inclined upwardly towards the rear of thecombine C. The auger or feed sections 98 and 100 receive and divide thecrop material from the infeed conveyor 28. Tailings are deliveredthrough the openings 96. From the auger sections 98 and 100, the crop ishandled by the main threshing sections 108 and 110. The crop material israpidly fed longitudinally into the spaces D and E and the threshingportions 111,115 of the rotors centrifugally force the crop materialagainst the casing means to beat and rub the crop against the concaves118,8 thereby loosening and discharging the most of the grain throughthe concaves 118 A,B. The straw or remaining crop material continues torotate and vanes or flights 116 move the straw mats or remaining of thecrop material rearwardly. The straw mats pass repeatedly across theconcaves for repeated threshing. The straw mats are then discharged intothe separating sections 120 and 122.

The separating portions 124A,B of the rotors have blades 126 fordislodging remaining grain by tumbling and agitating the straw. Thegrain is separated from the straw by gravity and centrifugal force anddischarged through the grates 128. The straw is in form of a mat and themat density or thickness provides an acceptable separation efficiency inrelation to the capacity of the threshing and separating units. Thestraw continues to be moved towards the end of the threshing andseparating units 30 and 32 by means of the flights or vanes 116, and theseparating portions 124A,B. The straw or remainder of crop materialpasses from the separating sections 120,122 into the discharge sections137,139 where it is discharged downwardly through openings 137A,139Aonto members 146 and rearwardly conveyed by fingers 148. The straw isreoriented, and this, with the combing action of the fingers, dislodgesa portion of the remaining grain in the straw. The grain passes throughthe members 146 and lattice-like conveyor.

The opposite rotation of the threshing rotors 1 11,115 to movedownwardly at the center produces a grain precipitation pattern thatgradually diminishes from the center area as illustrated in FIG. 4A.This provides a grain distribution that is readily cleaned and separatedby the grain cleaning means.

The cleaning and movement of the threshed grain is produced by the flowof air and the vibration or oscillation of the grain pan and sieves. Thefan blows air through the chaffer sieve 62 and the cleaning sieve 63 tosuspend chaff and other small material in an air stream for dischargethrough the rear opening 138 of the thresher while the grain passesdownwardly onto the chute 64. The vibration of oscillation causes thegrain on the grain pan to move rearwardly onto the sieves to besubjected to the air flow from the fan 60. Thus an excellent separationand cleaning of the grain is attained with a separate and rapiddischarge of straw, trash and chaff.

SUMMARY OF FEATURES OF THE THRESHING AND SEPARATING MACHINE It is thusseen from the foregoing description that a threshing and separatingmachine has been developed which efficiently threshes and separatesgrain at a greater rate than presently available combines. This isattained without any substantial change in the size or weight of themachine from lower capacity conventional machines. From another point ofview, a combine at an acceptable weight and size is provided having acapacity of oversize conventional combines.

More specifically the combined widths of the twin units fit within thesame space provided for the transverse threshing-cylinder of the largestcombine with acceptable maximum width. These twin units have asubstantially greater capacity than these conventional combines. Thetotal weight of this twin unit combine is in the order of the lowercapacity combines of the same size. The overall length will becomparable to smaller capacity combines.

The total or combined width of the threshing and separating units isapproximately the width of the main frame and the casing height orvertical diameter of the threshing and separating unit is approximatelyhalf the width of the frame or the combined width.

As to the vertical dimensions, the heights of the sideby-side twinthreshing units are less than the overall height of the threshing andbeater portions of larger combines of the same capacity. The lowerheight increases the space for the grain tank. The grain tank either canbe enlarged for more grain capacity or can be lowered for improved fieldof vision of the operator. Since the components of the twin axialcombine are smaller, the weight is less than the larger oversizeconventional combines of the same capacity.

The axial separating units of this invention process a greater amount ofstraw more rapidly and efficiently than straw walkers for conventionalcombines ofa similar capacity. Further, the weight and size of theseparat ing units are less for the material handled. Another feature ofthe invention is the low straw mat thickness for the amount of cropmaterial processed. The two paths of flow of crop material at smalldiameters permits low mat thickness as compared with the greater matthickness of larger single axial flow units. This low mat thicknessprovides a more efficient threshing and separating of the grain at alower horsepower than for larger less satisfactory single axial units.

The elongated transverse configuration of the threshing rotors whichprovides the axial extending spaces along the sides of the rotor permitsseparation of debris from the mat material formed at the casings. Themat material passes between the rasp bars on the rotors and the concavebars while the unwanted debris passes through axial spaces D and E ofthe threshing section. This avoidance of the jamming of debris betweenthe rasp bars and concaves reduces a cause for damage now present inconventional combines. Also the configuration and spacing of theseparating portions 124 from the casing and grates permits the readypassage of debris out of the combine. Debris such as rocks, metalmachine parts, and the like rapidly pass through the combine and aredischarged without injury to the threshing and separating mechanisms.

The anti-wrap shields at the infeed of the threshing and separatingunits are particularly advantageous in providing greater versatility tothe crops processed and the condition of crops. Crops with longentangling stems or stalks such as barley may be fed into the combinewithout fouling the shaft at the bearing means.

This versatility of twin rotors also permits opposed rotation of therotors to provide an acceptable grain precipitation pattern for properand efficient cleaning of the grain. The grain precipitated over an areaunderneath the contiguous sides and spreads to the sides of the grainpan. The agitation of the grain pan further spreads and evens thedistribution of the grain.

The movement of the grain through the unit is rapid. The rotary membersagitate the mat to dislodge entrained grain and circulate the mat aroundthe unit for a rapid discharge of the remaining material from the unitswith an efficient separation of the grain. The rotary separating unitshave a greater versatility in speed of operation than straw walkers.Thus within a given space the rotary separator sections can handle agreater amount of crop material.

Another advantage of the twin axial flow threshing and separating unitsunits is the greater convenience in changing the length of the openingsin the concaves and grates. In conventional combines the header andinfeed conveyor must be removed in order to insert or remove the wires.in the twin axial flow the wires are available through removable sidepanels.

The greater threshing capacity of the combine described herein isattained within the acceptable overall width and weight of smallconventional combines and with additional advantages of versatility ofoperation,

more efficient grain separation from the straw and improved designrelation of the components.

The threshing and separating units have been illustrated with rotorshaving two radial portions or arms. In threshing and separating sometypes of crop material, rotors with three arms may be used andpreferred. A three arm threshing and separating rotor may provide bettermat characteristics and smoother operation with some types of cropmaterial. When the three arm rotors are timed so that only one concavesis swept at a given time the circumferential arc of the concaves is 60.The separating grates may extend over a larger arc.

Also, the rotors may have spikes instead of rasp bars and the concavesmay be provided with complementary spikes having spaces for passing therotor spikes. For ready adaptation to different types of crops the raspbars and rotor spikes may be readily interchanged through the outersides of the casings of the respective units.

While the invention has been described, it will be understood that it iscapable of further modifications and this application is intended tocover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following ingenera], the principles of the invention and including such departuresfrom the present disclosure as come within known or customary practicein the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to theessential features hereinbefore set forth and as fall within the scopeof the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: l. A combineharvester comprising:

a mobile frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field havingstanding grain bearing crop material;

. a header mounted on said frame extending forwardly therefrom, saidheader having means for severing said crop material and infeed meanswhich receives the severed crop material and conveys it rearwardly;

two threshing and separating casings mounted on said frame and extendingin a fore-and-aft direction in substantially side-by-side relation withthe axes of said casings lying in a common plane;

said two casings being open at forward portions thereof to receive saidcrop material and each casing having a forward transversely curvedconcave, a transversely curved apertured separating means rearwardly ofsaid concave, a top wall above said concave and separating means, and arearward opening for the discharge of straw;

means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into twosections, one for each of said casings,

two fore-and-aft extending rotors, one in each of said casings, saidrotors having forward threshing portions and rearward separatingportions in operative relation to said concaves and separating means,respectively;

drive means to rotate said rotors, said rotors upon rotation drawingsaid divided crop material into said casings;

the threshing portions of said rotating rotors and said concavesremoving grain from said crop material, the grain being dischargedthrough said concaves, the rearward portions of said rotors separatingadditional grain from the crop material and such grain being dischargedthrough said separating means, the straw remaining after the removal ofsaid grain being passed through said casing discharge openings; and

grain handling and cleaning means beneath said casings to receive saidgrain.

2. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said grain handlingand cleaning means is unitary and receives grain from both of saidcasings.

3. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said unitary grainhandling and cleaning means includes a transversely extending sieveassembly disposed beneath both of said casings.

4. A combine harvester as recited in claim 2 wherein said unitary grainhandling and cleaning means includes a transversely extending grain pandisposed under both of said concaves and a rearwardly disposedtransversely extending sieve assembly disposed at least in part underboth of said casing separator means.

5. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 further characterized bythe provision of a first tailings return auger assembly disposed undersaid grain handling and cleaning means and adapted to receive tailingstherefrom, an upwardly extending tailings elevator, and a secondtailings return auger assembly disposed above said casings, each of saidcasings having aperture means therein to receive said returned tailings.

6. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein the transverselycurved concave, the transversely curved apertured separating means, andthe top wall for each of the casings is supported at one side on theframe of the concave, and at adjacent sides by an intermediatelongitudinally extending beam.

7. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said rotors arerotated in opposite directions.

8. A combine harvester as recited in claim 7 wherein said rotors passdownwardly with respect to each other at adjacent sides.

9. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein said rotors arerotated in timed out-of-phase relationship with respect to each other.

10. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 wherein the means on thecombine harvester for dividing the crop material is disposed rearwardlyof the infeed means and forwardly of the concave of each of the twocasings.

11. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 further characterized bythe provision of a bottom wall structure, and wherein each of saidrotors is provided with crop feeding means forwardly of said forwardthreshing portions, said crop feeding means cooperating with said bottomwall structure to draw in unthreshed crop material from said infeedmeans and divide said unthreshed crop material into two mat sections,one for each of said casings.

12. A combine harvester as recited in claim .11 wherein said rotor cropfeeding means are augers.

13. A combine harvester as recited in claim 11 wherein one of the rotorcrop feeding means is a righthand feeding auger and the other one of therotor crop feeding means is a left-hand feeding auger, and wherein saiddrive means rotate said rotors in opposite directions downwardly atadjacent sides, the oppositely flighted augers cooperating with thebottom wall structure to divide said crop material received from saidinfeed means into two mat sections, one for each of said casings.

14. A combine harvester as recited in claim 11 wherein the rear end ofthe bottom wall structure peripherally encloses the rotor feed means.

15. A combine harvester comprising:

a mobile frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field havinggrain bearing crop material; two generally cylindrical casings carriedby said frame in generally horizontal side-by-side relation, saidcasings having concaves extending longitudinally along the bottom ofrespective casings;

means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into twosections, one for each of said casings;

longitudinally extending rotors in said respective casings havingperipherally spaced apart threshing elements cooperating with saidrespective concaves for threshing grain-like material from unthreshedcrop material;

means for rotating said rotors in opposite directions and downwardly atadjacent sides of said casings with said concave positioned to dropgrain-like material in a longitudinal mid-area beneath adjacent sides ofsaid casings, whereby threshed grain precipitates in diminishing depthsoutwardly from the center area, and

unitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frameunderneath both of said concaves, the grain dropping through saidconcaves being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in atransverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distributioncleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaningmeans.

16. A combine harvester comprising:

a mobile frame adapted to be propelled in a forward direction over afield of grain bearing crop material;

means operable to sever unthreshed grain bearing crop material from itsstubble;

an infeed conveyor means and housing mounted on said frame and extendingforwardly therefrom, said housing supporting the severing means, andsaid conveyor means being operable to receive the unthreshed grainbearing crop material and to convey it rearwardly towards the frame in arelatively flat mat;

two axial flow threshing and separating casings mounted in said frameand extending rearwardly from said infeed conveyor in substantiallyside-byside relation with the axes of said casings lying in the sameplane, the casings having two transversely curved longitudinallyextending forward concaves, two transversely curved rearward aperturedseparating means following said respective concaves, and twotransversely curved top walls extending longitudinally in spacedrelation above said respective concaves and apertured separating means;

means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into twosections, one for each of said casings;

two rotors extending longitudinally, one in each of said cylinders, andhaving circumferentially spaced apart forward threshing portions andrearward separating portions in operative relation to said casingconcaves and said apertured separating means;

means interconnected with said rotors operable to rotate said rotors inopposite directions and down wardly at adjacent sides, the threshing andseparating portions of said rotors during rotation being operable toengage the unthreshed grain bearing crop material received from said endfeed conveyor means and to advance it generally helically along theinner periphery of each of said casings in a relatively thin. mat, theforward threshing portions of the rotors cooperating with the concavesto thresh grain and to discharge a portion of the threshed grain throughsaid concaves, the rearward separating portion being cooperable with theapertured separating means to discharge a further portion of thethreshed grain through said apertured separating means; and

grain handling and cleaning means underneath said cylinders to receivethe discharged grain, the grain dropping through said concaves and saidapertured separating means being received by the grain handling andcleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable intoa distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling andcleaning means.

17. In a combine harvester having a frame adapted to be propelledforwardly over a field of grain bearing crop material,

a header mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, saidheader being provided with means to separate grain bearing crop materialfrom its stubble and means to convey the separated grain bearing cropmaterial rearwardly towards said frame, and

grain handling and cleaning means carried by said frame and operable toreceive grain separated from the aforesaid separated grain bearing cropmaterial and to clean the grain;

the combination thereof of:

two axial flow threshing and separating units operable to thresh thegrain bearing crop material conveyed rearwardly by said header and toseparate grain from its straw, said two axial flow threshing andseparating units including two threshing and separating casings mountedon said frame and extending in a fore-and-aft direction in substantiallyside-by-side relation with the axes of said casings lying in a commonplane, said two casings being opened at the forward portions thereof toreceive said grain bearing crop material and each casing having aforward transversely curved concave, a transversely curved aperturedseparating means rearwardly of said concave, a top wall above saidconcave and separating means, and a rearward opening for the dischargeof straw;

two fore-and-aft extending rotors, one in each of said casings, saidrotors having forward threshing portions and rearward separatingportions in operative relation to said concaves and separating means,respectively; and

means on said combine harvester for dividing said crop material into twosections, one for each of said casings;

drive means operable to rotate said rotors in opposite directions anddownwardly at adjacent sides whereby more grain is normally received onthe mid longitudinally extending area of the grain handling and cleaningmeans than is received on the side areas of the grain handling andcleaning means.

18. A combine harvester mounted on a mobile frame supported on wheels tomove in a longitudinal direction with at least two wheelstransverselyspaced on opposite sides of said frame and comprising twoaxial flow threshing and separating casings having respectively forwardcrop material intakes, rear crop material discharges and conveying meansbetween said intakes and discharges for generally helically andrearwardly guiding crop material rotating in said casings,

two longitudinally extending mounted in said casings,

drive means connected to said rotors for rotating said rotors in timedrelation, said rotors during rotation cooperating with said conveyingmeans to move crop material from said respective intakes to saidrespective discharges said casings being in adjacent side-by-siderelation with longitudinal axes parallel and in an inclined planeextending upwardly and rearwardly, and with the combined width of saidcasings being substantially greater than the vertical diameters of thecasings and less than the spacing of the transverse wheels,

said casings each having longitudinally extending threshing meansextending circumferentially over a minor are, said casing threshingmeans being in side-by-side relation substantially across the width ofthe frame, said rotors each having longitudinally extending threshingmeans, passing in separate threshing actions with respective casingthreshing means to detach grain from the crop material and pass thedetached grain through the casing threshing means across the combinedwidth, said threshing means of each rotor being circumferentially spacedin a given circumferential alignment to sweep said respective threshingmeans, and said drive means rotating said threshing means of said tworotors in timed out-of-phase relation to distribute the threshingactions, and

v unitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frameunderneath both of said casing threshing means, said grain passingthrough the casing threshing means being received by the grain handlingand cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeableinto a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grainhandling and cleaning means.

19. A combine comprising:

a wheeled frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over a field of grainbearing crop material, said frame having a forward inlet end and adischarge;

a forwardly extending infeed conveyor and housing mounted on the frontend of said wheeled frame;

infeed conveyor means in said housing and operable to deliver a mat ofunthreshed grain bearing crop material rearwardly to said forward inlet;

a pair of side-by-side longitudinally extending axial flow threshing andseparating units mounted within the frame, each of said units includinga generally cylindrical casing and a rotor mounted for rotation withinthe casing, said casing having an open forward inlet, an intermediateconcave, and an open discharge outlet, and said rotor having a pluralityof circumferentially spaced apart rasp bars, the rotor being operableupon rotation to cause the rasp bars in cooperation with the concave tothresh rotors rotatably grain from the unthreshed grain bearing cropmaterial conveyed to said units and to generally helically advance thecrop material through said casing while separating a large proportion ofthe threshed grain from the residue of the crop material, the residue ofthe crop material being discharged through the discharge outlet;

residue crop material conveying and separating means at the rear ends ofsaid casings, said conveying and separating means including alongitudinally movable conveyor and an apertured structure over whichthe discharged residue of the crop material is adapted to be conveyed bysaid'conveyor, said conveying and separating means being operable toreceive the residue of the crop material generally helically conveyedthrough said casings and discharged through the discharge outlets and tomove the residue in a different direction for reorientation of theresidue of the crop material for further separation of grain from theresidue of crop material, the grain passing through said aperturedstructure.

20. A combine as set forth in claim 19 wherein said apertured structurecomprises a plurality of parallel spaced apart longitudinally extendingmembers, and said movable conveyor comprises a plurality of fingersmounted on transversely extending spaced rods, said fingers projectingthrough said longitudinally extending members.

21. A combine harvester comprising:

a mobile wheeled frame adapted to be propelled in a forward directionover a field of grain bearing crop material;

means operable to sever grain bearing crop material from its suitableand to laterally consolidate the severed crop material;

an infeed conveyor and housing mounted on said frame and extendingforwardly therefrom, said housing supporting the severing andconsolidating means, and said conveyor being operable to receive theconsolidating crop material and to convey it rearwardly towards theframe in a relatively flat mat;

two axial flow threshing and separating units mounted in said frame,said units including two casings disposed in abutting side-by-sideparallel relation with the axes of the casings lying in the same plane,each of the casings having a forward inlet opening, a transverselycurved longitudinally extending concave substantially spanning atransverse threshing width, a transversely curved longitudinallyextending grate following said concave, and a rearward dischargeopening; said units also including two rotors, each rotor beingrotatably mounted within an associated casing and includingcircumferentially spaced apart forward threshing portions, and rearseparating portions, and

said units also including feed means spaced forwardly of said concaves,said feed means being capable of receiving and dividing the cropmaterial received from said conveyor and feeding the crop material intosaid casings in divided streams,

common drive means having interconnected means for rotating said rotorsat a common rotational speed and in opposite directions downwardly atadjacent sides, the threshing portions of one rotor being maintained inan angularly offset relation 'residue crop material conveying andseparating means at the rear ends of said casings, said conveying andseparating means including a longitudinally movable conveyor and anapertured structure over which the discharged residue of the cropmaterial is adapted to be conveyed by said conveyor, said conveying andseparating means being operable to receive the residue of the cropmaterially conveyed through said units and to move the residue in adifferent direction for reorientation of the residue of the cropmaterial for further separation of grain from the residue of cropmaterial, the grain passing through said apertured structure,

and unitary grain handling and cleaning means underneath both of saidcasings and said residue crop material conveying and separating means,said grain being discharged through said concaves, grates, and aperturedstructure being received by said grain handling and cleaning means in atransverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable under agitation of thegrain handling and cleaning means into a distribution cleanable by aflow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcr CERTWECA'EE @E CGRRECTWN Patent No. 3 742Dated July 3, 1973 Inventor s Edward William Rowland-Hill It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 4, "may" should read my line 51, "combined" should readcombine -;1 line 54, "behicle" should read vehicle Column 5, line 59,cancel "the", second occurrence. Column 7, line 56, "conventiently"should read conveniently Column 10, line 26, "retatable" should readrotatable line 55, "totatably" should read rotatably line 56, '1l8 3should read ll8A,B Column 12 line- 57,

cancel "units"; second occurrence. Column 13, line 10, "concaves" shouldread concave Column 14, line 10, "1'' should read 2 Column 17, line 58,"a pair ofside-by-side" should read one or more line 60, "of said units"should read unit Column 18, line 9, "ends" should read end same line 9,"casings" should read casing line 16, "casings" should read casing line17, "outlets" should read outlet line 34, "suitable" should. readstubble Signed and sealed this 19th day of February 1974.

(SEAL) Attest: EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. C, MARSHALL DANN Attestlng Offlce vCommissioner of Patents 5 FORM PC4050 HO'SQ) uscoMM-oc 60376-P69 "-5.GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 5 l9, 36"33"

1. A combine harvester comprising: a mobile frame adapted to bepropelled forwardly over a field having standing grain bearing cropmaterial; a header mounted on said frame extending forwardly therefrom,said header having means for severing said crop material and infeedmeans which receives the severed crop material and conveys itrearwardly; two threshing and sEparating casings mounted on said frameand extending in a fore-and-aft direction in substantially side-bysiderelation with the axes of said casings lying in a common plane; said twocasings being open at forward portions thereof to receive said cropmaterial and each casing having a forward transversely curved concave, atransversely curved apertured separating means rearwardly of saidconcave, a top wall above said concave and separating means, and arearward opening for the discharge of straw; means on said combineharvester for dividing said crop material into two sections, one foreach of said casings, two fore-and-aft extending rotors, one in each ofsaid casings, said rotors having forward threshing portions and rearwardseparating portions in operative relation to said concaves andseparating means, respectively; drive means to rotate said rotors, saidrotors upon rotation drawing said divided crop material into saidcasings; the threshing portions of said rotating rotors and saidconcaves removing grain from said crop material, the grain beingdischarged through said concaves, the rearward portions of said rotorsseparating additional grain from the crop material and such grain beingdischarged through said separating means, the straw remaining after theremoval of said grain being passed through said casing dischargeopenings; and grain handling and cleaning means beneath said casings toreceive said grain.
 2. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 whereinsaid grain handling and cleaning means is unitary and receives grainfrom both of said casings.
 3. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1wherein said unitary grain handling and cleaning means includes atransversely extending sieve assembly disposed beneath both of saidcasings.
 4. A combine harvester as recited in claim 2 wherein saidunitary grain handling and cleaning means includes a transverselyextending grain pan disposed under both of said concaves and arearwardly disposed transversely extending sieve assembly disposed atleast in part under both of said casing separator means.
 5. A combineharvester as recited in claim 1 further characterized by the provisionof a first tailings return auger assembly disposed under said grainhandling and cleaning means and adapted to receive tailings therefrom,an upwardly extending tailings elevator, and a second tailings returnauger assembly disposed above said casings, each of said casings havingaperture means therein to receive said returned tailings.
 6. A combineharvester as recited in claim 1 wherein the transversely curved concave,the transversely curved apertured separating means, and the top wall foreach of the casings is supported at one side on the frame of theconcave, and at adjacent sides by an intermediate longitudinallyextending beam.
 7. A combine harvester as recited in claim 1 whereinsaid rotors are rotated in opposite directions.
 8. A combine harvesteras recited in claim 7 wherein said rotors pass downwardly with respectto each other at adjacent sides.
 9. A combine harvester as recited inclaim 1 wherein said rotors are rotated in timed out-of-phaserelationship with respect to each other.
 10. A combine harvester asrecited in claim 1 wherein the means on the combine harvester fordividing the crop material is disposed rearwardly of the infeed meansand forwardly of the concave of each of the two casings.
 11. A combineharvester as recited in claim 1 further characterized by the provisionof a bottom wall structure, and wherein each of said rotors is providedwith crop feeding means forwardly of said forward threshing portions,said crop feeding means cooperating with said bottom wall structure todraw in unthreshed crop material from said infeed means and divide saidunthreshed crop material into two mat sections, one for each of saidcasings.
 12. A combine harvester as recited in claim 11 wherein saidrotor crop feeding means are augers.
 13. A combine harvester as recitedIn claim 11 wherein one of the rotor crop feeding means is a right-handfeeding auger and the other one of the rotor crop feeding means is aleft-hand feeding auger, and wherein said drive means rotate said rotorsin opposite directions downwardly at adjacent sides, the oppositelyflighted augers cooperating with the bottom wall structure to dividesaid crop material received from said infeed means into two matsections, one for each of said casings.
 14. A combine harvester asrecited in claim 11 wherein the rear end of the bottom wall structureperipherally encloses the rotor feed means.
 15. A combine harvestercomprising: a mobile frame adapted to be propelled forwardly over afield having grain bearing crop material; two generally cylindricalcasings carried by said frame in generally horizontal side-by-siderelation, said casings having concaves extending longitudinally alongthe bottom of respective casings; means on said combine harvester fordividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of saidcasings; longitudinally extending rotors in said respective casingshaving peripherally spaced apart threshing elements cooperating withsaid respective concaves for threshing grain-like material fromunthreshed crop material; means for rotating said rotors in oppositedirections and downwardly at adjacent sides of said casings with saidconcave positioned to drop grain-like material in a longitudinalmid-area beneath adjacent sides of said casings, whereby threshed grainprecipitates in diminishing depths outwardly from the center area, andunitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frameunderneath both of said concaves, the grain dropping through saidconcaves being received by the grain handling and cleaning means in atransverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distributioncleanable by a flow of air through the grain handling and cleaningmeans.
 16. A combine harvester comprising: a mobile frame adapted to bepropelled in a forward direction over a field of grain bearing cropmaterial; means operable to sever unthreshed grain bearing crop materialfrom its stubble; an infeed conveyor means and housing mounted on saidframe and extending forwardly therefrom, said housing supporting thesevering means, and said conveyor means being operable to receive theunthreshed grain bearing crop material and to convey it rearwardlytowards the frame in a relatively flat mat; two axial flow threshing andseparating casings mounted in said frame and extending rearwardly fromsaid infeed conveyor in substantially side-by-side relation with theaxes of said casings lying in the same plane, the casings having twotransversely curved longitudinally extending forward concaves, twotransversely curved rearward apertured separating means following saidrespective concaves, and two transversely curved top walls extendinglongitudinally in spaced relation above said respective concaves andapertured separating means; means on said combine harvester for dividingsaid crop material into two sections, one for each of said casings; tworotors extending longitudinally, one in each of said cylinders, andhaving circumferentially spaced apart forward threshing portions andrearward separating portions in operative relation to said casingconcaves and said apertured separating means; means interconnected withsaid rotors operable to rotate said rotors in opposite directions anddownwardly at adjacent sides, the threshing and separating portions ofsaid rotors during rotation being operable to engage the unthreshedgrain bearing crop material received from said end feed conveyor meansand to advance it generally helically along the inner periphery of eachof said casings in a relatively thin mat, the forward threshing portionsof the rotors cooperating with the concaves to thresh grain and todischarge a portion of the threshed grain through said concaves, therearward separating portion being cooperaBle with the aperturedseparating means to discharge a further portion of the threshed grainthrough said apertured separating means; and grain handling and cleaningmeans underneath said cylinders to receive the discharged grain, thegrain dropping through said concaves and said apertured separating meansbeing received by the grain handling and cleaning means in a transverseprecipitation pattern rearrangeable into a distribution cleanable by aflow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.
 17. In acombine harvester having a frame adapted to be propelled forwardly overa field of grain bearing crop material, a header mounted on said frameand extending forwardly therefrom, said header being provided with meansto separate grain bearing crop material from its stubble and means toconvey the separated grain bearing crop material rearwardly towards saidframe, and grain handling and cleaning means carried by said frame andoperable to receive grain separated from the aforesaid separated grainbearing crop material and to clean the grain; the combination thereofof: two axial flow threshing and separating units operable to thresh thegrain bearing crop material conveyed rearwardly by said header and toseparate grain from its straw, said two axial flow threshing andseparating units including two threshing and separating casings mountedon said frame and extending in a fore-and-aft direction in substantiallyside-by-side relation with the axes of said casings lying in a commonplane, said two casings being opened at the forward portions thereof toreceive said grain bearing crop material and each casing having aforward transversely curved concave, a transversely curved aperturedseparating means rearwardly of said concave, a top wall above saidconcave and separating means, and a rearward opening for the dischargeof straw; two fore-and-aft extending rotors, one in each of saidcasings, said rotors having forward threshing portions and rearwardseparating portions in operative relation to said concaves andseparating means, respectively; and means on said combine harvester fordividing said crop material into two sections, one for each of saidcasings; drive means operable to rotate said rotors in oppositedirections and downwardly at adjacent sides whereby more grain isnormally received on the mid longitudinally extending area of the grainhandling and cleaning means than is received on the side areas of thegrain handling and cleaning means.
 18. A combine harvester mounted on amobile frame supported on wheels to move in a longitudinal directionwith at least two wheels transversely spaced on opposite sides of saidframe and comprising two axial flow threshing and separating casingshaving respectively forward crop material intakes, rear crop materialdischarges and conveying means between said intakes and discharges forgenerally helically and rearwardly guiding crop material rotating insaid casings, two longitudinally extending rotors rotatably mounted insaid casings, drive means connected to said rotors for rotating saidrotors in timed relation, said rotors during rotation cooperating withsaid conveying means to move crop material from said respective intakesto said respective discharges said casings being in adjacentside-by-side relation with longitudinal axes parallel and in an inclinedplane extending upwardly and rearwardly, and with the combined width ofsaid casings being substantially greater than the vertical diameters ofthe casings and less than the spacing of the transverse wheels, saidcasings each having longitudinally extending threshing means extendingcircumferentially over a minor arc, said casing threshing means being inside-by-side relation substantially across the width of the frame, saidrotors each having longitudinally extending threshing means, passing inseparate threshing actions with respective casing threshing means todetach grain from the crop mateRial and pass the detached grain throughthe casing threshing means across the combined width, said threshingmeans of each rotor being circumferentially spaced in a givencircumferential alignment to sweep said respective threshing means, andsaid drive means rotating said threshing means of said two rotors intimed out-of-phase relation to distribute the threshing actions, andunitary grain handling and cleaning means mounted on the frameunderneath both of said casing threshing means, said grain passingthrough the casing threshing means being received by the grain handlingand cleaning means in a transverse precipitation pattern rearrangeableinto a distribution cleanable by a flow of air through the grainhandling and cleaning means.
 19. A combine comprising: a wheeled frameadapted to be propelled forwardly over a field of grain bearing cropmaterial, said frame having a forward inlet end and a discharge; aforwardly extending infeed conveyor and housing mounted on the front endof said wheeled frame; infeed conveyor means in said housing andoperable to deliver a mat of unthreshed grain bearing crop materialrearwardly to said forward inlet; a pair of side-by-side longitudinallyextending axial flow threshing and separating units mounted within theframe, each of said units including a generally cylindrical casing and arotor mounted for rotation within the casing, said casing having an openforward inlet, an intermediate concave, and an open discharge outlet,and said rotor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart raspbars, the rotor being operable upon rotation to cause the rasp bars incooperation with the concave to thresh grain from the unthreshed grainbearing crop material conveyed to said units and to generally helicallyadvance the crop material through said casing while separating a largeproportion of the threshed grain from the residue of the crop material,the residue of the crop material being discharged through the dischargeoutlet; residue crop material conveying and separating means at the rearends of said casings, said conveying and separating means including alongitudinally movable conveyor and an apertured structure over whichthe discharged residue of the crop material is adapted to be conveyed bysaid conveyor, said conveying and separating means being operable toreceive the residue of the crop material generally helically conveyedthrough said casings and discharged through the discharge outlets and tomove the residue in a different direction for reorientation of theresidue of the crop material for further separation of grain from theresidue of crop material, the grain passing through said aperturedstructure.
 20. A combine as set forth in claim 19 wherein said aperturedstructure comprises a plurality of parallel spaced apart longitudinallyextending members, and said movable conveyor comprises a plurality offingers mounted on transversely extending spaced rods, said fingersprojecting through said longitudinally extending members.
 21. A combineharvester comprising: a mobile wheeled frame adapted to be propelled ina forward direction over a field of grain bearing crop material; meansoperable to sever grain bearing crop material from its suitable and tolaterally consolidate the severed crop material; an infeed conveyor andhousing mounted on said frame and extending forwardly therefrom, saidhousing supporting the severing and consolidating means, and saidconveyor being operable to receive the consolidating crop material andto convey it rearwardly towards the frame in a relatively flat mat; twoaxial flow threshing and separating units mounted in said frame, saidunits including two casings disposed in abutting side-by-side parallelrelation with the axes of the casings lying in the same plane, each ofthe casings having a forward inlet opening, a transversely curvedlongitudinally extending concave substantially spanning a transversethreshing width, a transversely cuRved longitudinally extending gratefollowing said concave, and a rearward discharge opening; said unitsalso including two rotors, each rotor being rotatably mounted within anassociated casing and including circumferentially spaced apart forwardthreshing portions, and rear separating portions, and said units alsoincluding feed means spaced forwardly of said concaves, said feed meansbeing capable of receiving and dividing the crop material received fromsaid conveyor and feeding the crop material into said casings in dividedstreams, common drive means having interconnected means for rotatingsaid rotors at a common rotational speed and in opposite directionsdownwardly at adjacent sides, the threshing portions of one rotor beingmaintained in an angularly offset relation with respect to the threshingportions of the other rotor in such a manner that during rotation thethreshing portions will alternately commence threshing traverse overtheir associated concaves, said units being operable upon rotation ofsaid rotors to thresh grain from the unthreshed grain bearing cropmaterial and to discharge a portion of the threshed grain through saidconcaves, to discharge a further portion of the threshed grain throughsaid grates, and to discharge the residue of crop material through therearward discharge opening of said casings, residue crop materialconveying and separating means at the rear ends of said casings, saidconveying and separating means including a longitudinally movableconveyor and an apertured structure over which the discharged residue ofthe crop material is adapted to be conveyed by said conveyor, saidconveying and separating means being operable to receive the residue ofthe crop materially conveyed through said units and to move the residuein a different direction for reorientation of the residue of the cropmaterial for further separation of grain from the residue of cropmaterial, the grain passing through said apertured structure, andunitary grain handling and cleaning means underneath both of saidcasings and said residue crop material conveying and separating means,said grain being discharged through said concaves, grates, and aperturedstructure being received by said grain handling and cleaning means in atransverse precipitation pattern rearrangeable under agitation of thegrain handling and cleaning means into a distribution cleanable by aflow of air through the grain handling and cleaning means.